The top-five-performing Vanguard funds for November benefited from a bounce in some industries. Still, at least one of them has plummeted almost 60 percent over one year.
The best-performing fund was the Vanguard Energy Fund (VGENX Quote), which bets on oil and gas, and oil and gas services. The fund may have more gains in December, given names like ExxonMobil(XOM Quote), Chevron(CVX Quote), Schlumberger(SLB Quote) and Occidental Petroleum(OXY Quote) as top holdings, and OPEC talking production cuts to support the price of oil and prevent its slide as the global economy weakens. Given the volatile oil market, the fund is more suited to a trader or speculator than an investor. The Vanguard Energy Index Fund(VENAX Quote) employs a similar strategy to VGENX.
The Vanguard Telecommunications Services Index Fund(VTCAX Quote) is a concentrated fund for those seeking exposure to specific telecommunications companies, namely Verizon (VZ Quote) and AT&T(T Quote), which account for a combined 40% of the fund's holdings. You may not want to be in this space if the economy continues to cool, which looks likely. ...
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| Dow Jones | S&P 500 | NASDAQ | 10-Year Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,308.26 | 1,096.07 | 2,180.05 | 34.87 |
Oil *
73.22
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DOWN
132.86
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13.11
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26.86
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1.09
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10 Yr
3.49%
SPDR Gold
107.34
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-1.27%
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-1.18%
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-1.22%
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-3.03%
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